Journal

Hurricane Katrina was awful. Several weeks before her havoc reached the Louisiana Gulf Coast, I heard that a couple from New Orleans had bought the dilapidated historic home across the street from one of our projects. The house was in sad condition. It had been carved into shoddy apartments. We hoped that somehow the new owners would talk to us about how we might work together. One day, while making a site visit at our neighboring project, the new owners appeared.

The house was originally built in 1902. During its life, it endured various additions and remodels. Around 2000, we had the opportunity to do a comprehensive renovation and addition to get all of the parts working together as they should.

TEN FACTS

The third floor once accommodated a fraternity.

120 year old footprints of a tiny child are in the concrete of the basement.

We designed a side entry door, only to discover that there had been a door in that location originally.